Stylepedia (Book Review)
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
One of those books I wasn’t entirely sure about putting the time into was Steven Heller and Louise Fili’s Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits. In many ways it proved to be a dry read, but it also provided some background knowledge about graphic design and it’s historical tendrils that an untrained designer like myself is lacking. The book covers a small encyclopedia of graphic design personalities, trends and movements over the last century.
For example, now I understand the passion for and against Helvetica and can articulate to some degree what it is that I feel lacking in someone’s portfolio if they rely solely on Helvetica for all things print and web. I now have an idea about Bauhaus and Dada and the Kodalith technique, to name a few. It’s a beginning and I admit in many ways I’m a neanderthal who’s tastes spring directly from my youth of influence by the (real) Punk movement and New Wave. My life isn’t about pretty pictures, or Helvetica.
Why books like Stylepedia are important is because nothing really just springs out of the ether in design, or in art for that matter. We build on political and social and practical ideals that surround us and the constant moulding of things into the new and unique. I think it’s the understanding of the historic evolution of design and it’s schools of thought that create the confidence to actually do something which is a little outside the accepted trend of the moment.
So, if you’ve got some room on your coffee table, you might look for this one at your local library or bookshop. It’s something you can pick up and flick through often, as opposed to the solid read to which I’m accustomed. By looking back we get the opportunity to choose a path forward, so I’m told.
